Architecture Designed for the Hearing Impaired

We live in a world made for people who hear. What would our cities looks like if they were designed for the deaf? DeafSpace is an emerging approach to design and architecture that is informed by the unique sensory experience of those who don’t hear. We visited Gallaudet University to see what DeafSpace looks like in action.

This is similar to an article on designing for the blind – Beyond Appearances – Architecture and the senses. In a world were buildings are predominantly judged by what they look like, how does someone without sight measure whether a building is a good one or a bad one?

On the other hand, sometimes too much noise is a problem as well, Julian Treasure gave an interesting talk on TED on why architects need to use their ears to design space. Because of poor acoustics, students in classrooms miss 50 percent of what their teachers say and patients in hospitals have trouble sleeping because they continually feel stressed. Julian Treasure sounds a call to action for designers to pay attention to the “invisible architecture” of sound.